CAPPS VS. BORDONARO: Candidates Lay Out Health Care Reform Agenda
As the race for California's 22nd Congressional District heats up, incumbent Lois Capps (D) and her challenger, state Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro (R), highlighted HMO reform Sunday in two televised debates. Capps said she supports federal legislation that would allow patients to sue their HMOs. "We need to address the situation. It's the highest priority for me," she said. Capps also said she would support a law "requiring decisions on treatment and diagnosis be made by physicians and their patients instead of by insurance administrators." Bordonaro emphasized his voting record on health care issues in the state Assembly. He noted that he supported legislation requiring a minimum two-day hospital stay after childbirth, and laws banning "gag orders," which block physicians from discussing with patients treatments not covered by their health plan. The Santa Barbara News-Press reports that Bordonaro also pledged to "boost Medicare reimbursements to health care providers in an effort to give senior citizens broader access to medical services" (Prado, 10/26). Click Capps or Bordonaro to read previous CHL coverage of the candidates.
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